Mihai Suba was born in Bucharest. Awarded the IM title in 1975 and the GM title in 1978, he was Romanian champion in 1980, 1981 and 1985.
He first came to wide attention in 1982 when he finished 2nd= with Gyula Sax after Zoltan Ribli at Baile Herculane, all three qualifying for the interzonals. At the Las Palmas interzonal, Suba finished 3rd, behind Ribli and Vasily Smyslov (who both became Candidates). In other events, he finished 1st at Dortmund 1983, 1st= at Prague 1985 and 1st= at Timisoara 1987.

In August of 1988, Suba sought political asylum in Britain, and he played for England at the 1989 European Team Championship. In 2008, he and Larry Kaufman tied for 1st-2nd in the World Senior Chess Championship.

Suba is the author of the well-received book Dynamic Chess Strategy as well as the monograph The Hedgehog.

looking at the repertoire explorer, i noticed that with the black pieces, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4, Suba almost always plays 3...Nf6, not the customary 3...cxd4. what's up with that?

is it some kind of Benoni invitation, considering that Suba plays the Benoni as well? is there any way to take advantage of this uncommon move, and if so, why has no one ever tried it against Suba? everyone plays 4.Nc3, back into main line Sicilians.

ycbaywtb: browsed/read some of his 1991 dynamic chess strategy and is easy read with thought provoking ideas, nice game collection too/ not many GM's actually win more than they draw, maybe he was on to something

It seems to me that the “??” given for the first move in the above variation is not deserved, and that it is rather White’s 7th move that should receive a question mark [7. g6?]. The point is that White should not advance the g-pawn to the 6th rank until the Black King is on the 3rd rank. Thus, from the following position (after <6. … Ka4!> in the actual game continuation quoted by Suba):

Alternatively, if Black plays <7. … Kb3> in the above line, then White continues with <8. g6 fxg6 9. fxg6>, so that the promotion will occur on g8 and give check to the King on b3. There is actually one further refinement in this last line, but I need to be leaving for work soon, so I will plan on addressing that point in a separate kibitz at my next opportunity.

White to move is winning, but the task is complicated by the fact that Black has a pawn on the c-file that is 3 moves from promotion and is supported by the nearby Black King. The position is only because the White King is also well-placed. In fact, if the White King were just one file further away (i.e., on f1 or f2), the position would be drawn.

From the diagram position, there are two principal lines that demonstrate the win for White, as follows:

Everett: I very much enjoy Suba's new version of Dynamic Chess Strategies, yet I find myself perturbed by his discussion of chess intuition without one mention of Bronstein. In actuality, I feel that his work is most in the spirit of the "intuitive dynamism" exemplified in Bronstein's best games.

All this aside, Suba's work has a similar effect on my chess that Bronstein's does: my play is more dynamic and interesting, with more flexibility.

Cemoblanca: Just reading "Dynamic Chess Strategy" by Mr. Subaman! ;0) Very entertaining & easy style! The introduction of this wonderful book says already everything: "I made a late debut in chess. Until the age of 20 I was more interested in other leisure activities. The only tournament I played in below this age ended in a catastrophe with me scoring 0 points out of 13 games! :D

Absolutely recommended! Very well done Mr. Subaman! Thank you & all the best for you & yours! Greetings! :0)

Everett: Player of the Day, with lasting philosophical ideas regarding the assessment of chess positions. For those interested, I gathered the games from DCS here, with some additional games worthy of study IMHO:

TheFocus: <When your opponent has a strategic advantage and virtually controls the board, or when he attacks something that cannot be defended by reasonable means, then the 'threat' or 'blackmail' with nonexistent attacks on the king may induce a mistake> - Mihai Suba.

NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply.
Getting your account takes less than a minute, totally anonymous,
and 100% free--plus, it
entitles you to features otherwise unavailable.
Pick your username now and join the chessgames community!
If you already have an account, you should
login now.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.

No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.

No personal attacks against other members.

Nothing in violation of United States law.

No posting personal information of members.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform an administrator.

NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page.
This forum is for this specific player and nothing else. If you want to discuss chess in general, or
this site, you might try the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages
posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.